Sniper scope requirements

[Therealryanbolt]

Im confused. I am soon bying a sniper rifle and need to get prepared to buy external parts (sling, bipod, stock pouch) but when gets to the scope, I'm not sure what the recommend magnification should be. Can you help?

Thanks

 

[Hangtight]

First, don't bother with a bipod, it'll just rattle, get in the way, break and not get used before being taken off, thrown in a dark corner and forgotten about.

Having got that out of the way...

You don't need a high magnification at Airsoft ranges. What you do need is a nice bright sight picture with a wide field of view. At the budget end of the spectrum a cheapish fixed magnification scope will do the job. Around £40 gets you a decent 4x32. Going up the price scale then something like...

http://www.tacticalscope.co.uk/nikko-stirling-diamond-15-6x44-no4-red-green-illuminated-reticle-30mm-scope-2678-p.asp

is going to work well.

Avoid cheaper variable magnification scopes. They have a poor field of view, a darker image than a fixed mag scope and you really don't need 9x at Airsoft ranges. Even 4x can sometimes be too much.

 

[proffrink]

Just buy Visionking - they're the absolute best budget scopes. AliExpress does them if you can wait 2 weeks for it to arrive: https://www.aliexpress.com/store/405045

Personally I think the 3-9x42 is about the best sniper scope you can buy for under £100: https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Free-Shipping-Visionking-3-9x42-DL-Mil-dot-30mm-Hunting-Rifle-scopes-High-shock-resistance-Wide/405045_728820436.html

For super budget they do this 3-9x40 as well: https://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Visionking-3-9x40-Rifle-scope-Riflescopes-for-Target-Shooting-Hunting-Military-1-inch-for-Ar15-M16/405045_32531607996.html

They also do short-dots that a lot of people use in the UK and are excellent. Whilst magnification and holding zero is less important in airsoft, a lot can be said for how clear the glass is, and Visionking really do a good job of that. I'd say no more than about 5x is needed for airsoft but any more is nice for IDing targets from time to time. I know a lot of people who don't even go beyond 3x too, but again the clarity of the scope picture does matter a bit if you were to compare two side-by-side.

 

[Prisce]

Get yourself one of these, I purchased mine off of Amazon for only £40, great eye relief, crisp image, and perfect for airsoft range.

View attachment 25541

 

[proffrink]

For whatever reason it seems like the 'sale' Visionking had on their AliExpress page ended last night, but I've never known them not to have a sale so if you do buy I'd wait a couple of days for it to come back.

Also wouldn't use Swiss Arms - I've owned two and they're noticeably worse than even the cheapest £45 Visionking alternative I've posted above in terms of how dark the picture is. Unfortunately you're paying for a white-labelled brand to an extent and it's highly unlikely that Swiss Arms make their own optics, whereas Visionking actually manufacture theirs AFAIK.